


A Loved One To Lose

by NomDePlumes



Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel Movies), WandaVision (TV)
Genre: Angst, Canon Divergence - Avengers: Endgame (Movie), Canon Divergence - Post-Avengers: Infinity War Part 1 (Movie), Comedy, F/M, Fluff, Fluff and Angst, Grief/Mourning, Hurt/Comfort, Love, Not Canon Compliant, Psychological Trauma, Romantic Comedy, Smut, True Love
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-03-19
Updated: 2021-03-23
Packaged: 2021-03-28 22:47:38
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 4
Words: 11,918
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/30146751
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/NomDePlumes/pseuds/NomDePlumes
Summary: He was freed of the Mind Stone in Wakanda, but the Avengers stood no chance against Thanos. A snap of the fingers, and Vision lost the love of his life.We know what happens to the Scarlet Witch when love is taken from her. What if the roles were reversed?
Relationships: Wanda Maximoff/Vision
Comments: 34
Kudos: 95





	1. Went For The Head

**Author's Note:**

> hi, it's been years since i have written anything but WandaVision broke me so, here i am diy-ing this shit. 
> 
> for what is fanfic, if not denial persevering.
> 
> obviously I own nothing, and please keep in mind there are some explicit hints towards sexual encounters in coming chapters.

_“Wanda.”_

_“I’m not having this conversation with you.” Wanda turned away from him after they entered one of the spare rooms of the compound. They had a few hours left to wait before the jet would be ready for them to leave for Wakanda, following Steve's suggestion to seek help and remove the Mind Stone from Vision’s head._

_“Wanda, please.” He held her shoulders, guiding her gaze back to him and held her in place with both hands, feeling her trembling under his touch while her eyes were on the verge of tears._

_“I need you to promise me.” His hands moved up to cradle the sides of her face as he gazes into her eyes with adoration and despair. “Promise me you will destroy the stone. No matter what happens.”_

_“Do you know what you are asking me to do…?” her lips start to quiver. “You are asking me to kill you, Vision. I… I can’t do that. I could never… I…” her breathing became uneven._

_“You’re all I have, I can’t…” Tears are falling. Vision could feel his heart breaking at the sight of his beloved._

_“Wanda…” he said softly, his eyes never leaving hers. He wanted to pull her close. Comfort her. Make all her fears go away._

_But he needed her to be ready if the time should come._

_“My Darling…” He gently wipes her tears away with his thumbs. “Regardless of whether we succeed in extracting the stone… it must be destroyed. Thanos mustn’t get his hands on all of them. Half the universe will die.”_

_“I don’t care about the universe,” she blurted, angry, frustrated. She frowned when she felt Vision’s hands trembling as he looked down at her, fear glistening in his sky-blue eyes._

_“What if **you** are the half that dies, Wanda?” he had to swallow a lump in his throat. The mere thought of anything happening to her chilling him to the depth of his core. “I can’t bear the thought of you…” He leaned his forehead against hers and closed his eyes. He was begging. Pleading._

_“Please… Please, promise me, you will destroy the stone no matter what.” He couldn’t stop shaking. His fear consuming him. “Please…”_

\--

“Wanda…!” Vision knelt to the ground, pulling Wanda up and holding her against his chest. She was exhausted from overexerting herself, the Mind Stone now destroyed. He looked into her eyes, smiling. 

“You did it.” He brought her hand to his cheek before placing loving kisses into her palm. “You did it.”

She let out a breathless sigh of relief as she smiled at him.

But the moment was short-lived as they saw the Titan coming closer to them. Vision looked up, where the stone was once housed having become a naked arc reactor, his circuits showing and glowing golden as he faced Thanos, ready to shoot.

“You’re too late,” he said firmly. He released Wanda who was on her knees as he ascended to the air, shielding her from the alien madman. Thanos made no motion to stop. Vision narrowed his eyes at him and grit his teeth. “The stone is no more. You have lost.”

The fallen team looked up, trying their best to get back onto their feet.

Even without the last one, he still had gathered all the other stones. He was still the most powerful being in the universe with that gauntlet. He will still most likely continue to fight, unwilling to go down without retaliation.

But this was not the face of a man defeated and desperate.

“There is no time to lose.”

Emerald light engulfed the gauntlet as he lifts his arm. Vision could feel dread rising from the pit of his stomach.

“There is no time at all.”

He wastes no breath before shooting at the mad Titan with his power beam, only for him to redirect it with a flick of his wrist. Vision gathers Wanda in his arms, shielding her from his blast.

Wanda cried out his name with worry as she held him, Vision slumping over as his body copes with the strain. 

A gasp spilled from her lips and Vision looks up, horror etched into his face.

The stone was coming back together.

“No!” Wanda jumped up, rushing towards the stone, only for her to be flung away like a ragdoll. 

Vision catches her before she falls to the ground, using his body to break her fall.

Thanos had placed the stone in the gauntlet, groaning as the energy surged his body.

Lightning strikes. Thor struck him with his newly-forged axe.

But it was no use.

“You should have gone for the head.”

Thor yelled out for him to stop.

A metallic snap.

Thunder roared in the sky.

“What did you do?!” The Titan didn’t respond the Asguardian before he fell back into a portal he had fashioned for his escape.

Everyone looked around, an ominous crackle and thunder filling the skies. The air became heavy. 

So very heavy.

“Where’d he go?” Steve asked, catching his breath as he clutched his wound on his side. He looked around, confused, desperate. Unsure of what had just happened. 

“Thor,” 

Despair.

“where’d he go?” 

Vision looked around in horror. First Bucky fell, and he could make out Wakandan soldiers disintegrating as screams in Xhosa filled the air. He looked down at Wanda, his eyes pleading with her.

“Vis…”

“I’m right here, Darling.”

She cradled the side of his face. He puts his hand over hers. He flutters it with gentle kisses, his eyes fixed on his beloved. He held his breath.

He bargained. Half the universe will die.

Please, he silently begged. Let her be the half that lives.

50%. That’s not too much to ask for.

Statistically, that can’t be too much to ask for.

But it was.

A small gasp escaped his lips. His heart stopped.

He looked down in horror as she began to fade away to ashes.

An apologetic smile crossed her lips.

“No… No… Wanda please, no… I love you,” tears formed in his pleading eyes. “I love you, please no…!”

“Forgive me.” A breathless echo.

And she was no more.

Vision sat there, in shock. Unable to register or process what had just happened. Tears fell. He didn’t know he could cry.

He wept. Shaking uncontrollably, sobs wrecking his body as he slammed his fist to the ground.

How human of him.

_"I have always been alone. So, I don't feel the lack._

_I have never felt loss because I never had a loved one... to lose."_

He felt someone had put a hand on his shoulder.

He wept still. Unable to control himself. Incapable of calming himself.

\---

Days went by, wordlessly. Endlessly. 

Time was fast.  
Time stood still.

Work. Disaster relief. Doing what he could to manage resources along with Steve and Natasha. The world was engulfed by tragedy.

Work.

Work.

Work.

Wanda.

No.

He couldn’t allow his mind to wonder to her.

He would break.

He cannot break. Not right now. Everyone else is holding it together. 

He must hold it together.

“Hey Vision,” Natasha rested a hand on his shoulder, Vision looks over to see her offering a sympathetic smile. “You have been doing this non-stop. Maybe you should rest.”

He looked out the window. It was dark. He checked the time.

01:34 AM

“Thank you for your concern, Ms. Romanoff.” He gave her a kind smile. “I don’t need to rest. Please retire for the night and allow me to finish off here.”

A sad smile this time. She patted his shoulder and turned to leave the office, leaving Vision to bask in the lights of the digitized screens.

Just as she approached the door, she sees how the door frame started to shake. Vision looked towards the window. The whole building was rumbling.

Something was coming.

The team raced outside the compound. A spacecraft Vision had never seen before, but it was clearly damaged. Carrying it down was Carol Danvers. He had read files on her. She was also someone who was given abilities by an Infinity Stone.

Just like-

No.

Stairs descended from the craft, and a visibly weakened Tony Stark slowly walked down, being helped by a woman with a dark blue hue whom he had never met. A smile came upon his lips as he let out a small laugh in relief. 

Tony Stark survived. Thank Heavens.

Steve rushed to him, taking over in guiding him back to the compound. They talked briefly before Pepper ran to him, crying from happiness and relief.

They walk back towards the compound, the weakened genius nodded to himself in relief as he gives a few strong pats on Rhodes’ shoulder. He sees Vision and does the same. Like small triumphs that his close people had survived. Small happiness that he can grasp onto in this mayhem of tragedy. Yet his eyes were full of grief.

“Welcome back, Stark.”

He nodded. He walked along with Pepper back inside.

They needed to bring Tony up to speed. He was hooked on fluids, emaciated, and seemed a bit delirious from the tolls that strained his body. They discussed what they knew about.

Thanos did what he had planned to do.

Half of all living creatures in the universe wiped out.

Pictures of those who were lost flashed the air. Reminding them of their failure.

Wanda’s face.

Vision winced as he looked away.

No.

He had to keep it together.

Tony started his accusations against Steve.

Vision and Rhodes try to calm him down. He wasn’t having it.

He collapses. Vision and Rhodes check on him before leaving his recovery room. Banner had given him sedatives, and Pepper was by his side. He would be out for the rest of the day.

Danvers starts to walk off, saying she was off to kill Thanos.

Vision’s eyes widened as he looked at the enhanced individual. The team wanted to join. Vision was eager.

Did she even know where to find him?

Nebula was leaning on a door frame. She told them not to bother, that she knew where he was.

The garden, she said. Rocket explained how the snap created a radiation signature hitherto unheard of. And that two days ago, the same signature was detected. On a planet luscious with flora. 

The Garden.

Take out Thanos, and use the stones to get everyone back.

Just like that?

Vision could feel his heart racing as he clenched his hands into fists.

Just like that.

He allowed his mind to wander to her again. Her smile. Her gentle touch. Her kisses.

He was feeling hopeful. 

\---

The team is buckled inside of the craft. Vision breathed in, bracing himself for what is to come.

“Ok, who here has never been to space?”

Vision, Natasha, Steve and Rhodes raised their hands. Danvers laughs after having looked at the response.

“Just don’t throw up on my ship.”

They warped to the planet Thanos was residing. Vision and Danvers leave the ship to do reconnaissance, check what defences were erected.

There was nothing. Just him. Just the Titan.

He was cooking. 

He looked weakened. Tired. Expired.

Vision shot him down before crashing in, taking the Titan into a chokehold as the others rushed in to subdue his other limbs.

He increased his density and tightened his hold.

Wrath.

But he kept it together.

Thanos cried out in pain as Thor cut off his arm. The arm that was adorned with the gauntlet.

A loud metal clank as it dropped to the ground.

Steve and Natasha walk in, and Rocket turns the severed arm, revealing the worn-out armpiece was void of any stones.

“Oh, no…”

Vision’s eyes widened.

“Where are the stones?” He increased his density further, gripping him harder. The Titan groaned in pain. 

**“Where… are the stones?”**

Rage. 

The universe required corrections, he said. That the stones had thus lost their purpose. They were nothing more than temptations. 

They have been reduced to atoms.

It was done. He was inevitable.

Vision doesn’t remember much of what happened after that.

He felt numb.

Sounds were being drowned out.

He threw the Titan to the ground, beating down on him. He screams as he punches down.

_Wanda smiles after trying the stew. “Spirits lifted.”_

He screams in anguish. He doesn’t stop striking. He doesn’t hear the cries from his companions to stop.

_“I just feel you.”_

“Vision, I said stand down!”

Rhodes had pushed him off, pinning him to the wall. His gaze fixed on the synthezoid.

“That’s _**enough**_.” 

Vision breathing was ragged. He tried to get back to his senses.

Rhodes let him go as he calmed himself.

“He’s gotta be lying,” Banner said. “We just need to tear the place apart, they’ve gotta be here somewhere.”

“My father is many things,” Nebula walked up to her adopted father, who was groaning in pain as he struggled to get to his knees. “A liar isn’t one of them.”

The Titan thanks her. Maybe he was too harsh on her in the past. 

Thor cut off his head before he could continue his heartfelt apology.

They all stand in shock.

What had he done?

“I went for the head.”

There was no hope.

Vision looked down at the corpse. Fire crackling in the pit.

Wanda wasn’t coming back.


	2. Naked

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> this is just something a little on the light-hearted side before the plot starts. heavily inspired by paul bettany in a suit in 'gangster no. 1' 
> 
> a lot of chapters will be inspired by bettany in various movies. you may call it obsession but i call it inspiration. :D

How much time has passed since then? Since they had returned from killing Thanos? Since they learned that the Infinity Stones were no more?

Vision buried those notions deep within his joints. His crevices. Anywhere he could find into which he could shove down the pain.

Being a synthetic being made up of wires allowed him to do so. To compartmentalize. 

Days passed. Days turned into weeks. Weeks turned into months.

He spent his days in the Avengers compound, seemingly never ceasing to work. 

He had to work. He couldn’t stop, he mustn’t stop. He mustn’t allow his mind to wander. There was so much needed to be done. So much devastation that had to somehow be patched up.

There would be times when numbness would wash over him. It drowns out all sensations, all senses. His mind would go blank, and he would just be there. Not being, not living. Just... there.

A knock on the door of the office. He shakes his head to snap out of it before he turned his eyes away from the screens and saw Tony standing there, a bag in his hand.

“Hey there, Popsicle.” Tony gave him a quick smile before placing the travel bag onto the table. 

Vision knew whose that was.

“I see you’re doing better,” he returned his gaze back to the luminous screens as he continued organising resources to be dispatched. “To what do I owe the pleasure?”

“Well, for one thing you haven’t RSVP for my wedding,” Tony plopped down in his chair. “It’s in a month. No biggie.”

“There’s still a lot of work needed to be done for disaster relief. I want to finish this before anything else can escalate further.”

“As the philosopher Jagger once said: ‘You don’t always get what you want.’”

“All your festivities in the past have been rather intense.” 

“Come on, they weren’t that bad.”

“You and Rhodes once tore apart your home after you urinated in the suit. In front of an audience.” 

“You know Pep’s not gonna let me pull one of those again.”

True, he thought to himself. Tony was indeed domesticated by his dear fiancé.

“You’re gonna come, end of story. I designed a protocol to employ on your days off.” He took out his phone and tapped it on the digital computer. An array of data and codes surging across all the screens. “I insist.”

Vision let out a small sigh as he turned to face Tony. He did want to go to celebrate this momentous occasion in his friend’s life. The other part of him, however, had dread the idea of needing to socialise with people. “I guess my hands are tied.”

“Yay.” Tony’s vision turned to the bag on the table. He could feel Vision’s gaze following suit.

The small-talk was starting to get weary.

“This is Wanda’s. Some things she had left at Cap’s old base.”

“I am aware,” the synthezoid replied. Tony tried to make out any emotion emitting from his eyes. “I suppose the others are still rather taken aback by my actions on The Garden, for you to be giving me something of hers.”

It was no secret that Tony and Wanda weren’t ever really on best of terms. She never fully forgave him for having manufactured a bomb that killed her parents and traumatised her as a child. And they never had a conversation wherein he apologised before the team split up.

“Well, they do get it. You were… you are grieving. It’s normal to become consumed by it when everything happened so quickly.” 

Tony let out a deep sigh. This kind of talk has never been his forte. But he knew that Vision needed someone. Tony was the person from the team he was closest to, since Steve and Natasha were on opposite sides for the past years. And now that Tony was retired, Vision not only lost a mentor, he lost a friend who would be around. The next person would have been Rhodes, but duty called and the military needed him back in these turbulent times.

Vision wasn’t quite sure how to respond. “I didn’t think it was possible for me to conduct myself in such a way.”

“Many people would get surprised at what they can do,” Tony gave him a smile.

“There’s no need to feel guilty about that. And for the record, the others are worried about you, not afraid of you.” Tony could see that his words were lifting some weight from his shoulders.

They just never saw how you had evolved into something… more,” Tony sat up and made his way towards the sentient being. 

“It took them off-guard to see you after all those years apart to behave so human. Falling in love, grieving, acting out.” An awkward scratch on the temple. 

“But that doesn’t mean that they fear you because you became someone who could be prone to outbursts. If anything, that evens out the playing field.” 

Vision turned to him, squinting his eyes at him in suspicion.

“Why are you being so nice?”

“I’m trying to cheer you up, Sourpatch.”

“I am still unsure as to how to feel about this... But thank you, Stark.”

He put a comforting few pats on Vision’s shoulder.

Tony blinked.

Why did he make him so tall? Tony felt like an imp next to him. Almost 6ft 4’. That’s borderline freak-tall.

“Besides, as soon as they realise what a nervous sitcom goof you actually are, I doubt anyone would be able to take you seriously.”

He took slight offence. “I will have you know I have nerves of steel, so there goes your theory.”

Tony stifled a laugh. He sat on the edge of the table, next to the bag.

“Do you want to open it?”

“Not particularly,” he brushed his hands over the material. It was scarlet in colour.

Her favourite colour.

“I feel as though I am unable to face her. In every sense of the word. I chase memories away from my mind and bury them in my joints, not allowing myself to reminisce. To ponder.” He removed his hand, but his eyes remained on the bag. 

He gulps, feeling a lump in this throat. “I cannot… I do not wish to accept that she is gone.”

Tony paused for a moment before he looked up at him. He took off his tinted glasses, his eyes sparkled with sadness. 

“That’s… that’s denial, Junior.”

Silence.

Vision knew that. He never actively addressed it to himself, never reflected on his feelings. But he knew.

“It’s okay. Take it easy, take your time. But,” Tony stands up, slowly walking towards the door. He glances back at Vision. “Take it from someone who spent years shoving down and supressing everything… it doesn’t work. It only makes things ugly on the long run.”

Vision didn’t quite know how to respond. So, he deflected.

“Well, the apple doesn’t fall far from the tree.”

Tony let out a short laugh before putting his glasses back on. He definitely got that from him.

“And second line of business,” he said, looking at him head to toe. “We need to get you a suit.”

“That won’t be necessary. I can manifest whatever clothing need—"

“You know I have always been meaning to ask, are you basically always naked?”

Vision was taken aback. He begun to stutter. This was a realisation even he hadn’t made yet. Embarrassment became evident in his face as he tried to find the right words to defend himself.

“I- I-I am not exposed and—"

“You are not showing up naked at my wedding.”

“…Very well.”

Vision left the protocol to do its work. He needn’t check, it was Tony Stark’s design. It arguably will be more efficient than anything he could have conceptualised, anyway. A small glance at the bag on the table before he walked pass it and followed the soon-to-be-groom to go suit-hunting.

“Let’s throw on something a with a bit more blue on him,” Tony said to the tailor as he looked at Vision, who was clad in his human disguise and a black suit. It was, he believed, the first time he ever wore an entire outfit.

There have been times where he wore a few pieces here and there, because Wanda had requested in the past for him to do so.

_“I would like to have something to take off you as well,” Wanda moaned into Vision’s mouth as he greedily unfastens her bra, his hands roaming her body._

Memories that once brought forth lust now only brought a feeling of endless nothingness.

No.

Keep it together.

Vision shook his head before he looks down and examines the sleeves. The black tie with a clip. Single-breasted. Black shoes. It was classic, proper.

“I think this looks fine.”

“You look like a British gangster. Besides,” Tony picked up a glass of champagne before taking a sip. “It will bring out those perfect blue eyes.”

Vision furrowed his brows. British gangster? He looks at his reflection, greeted by the perplexed look on his face. Did he really?

A light blue suit.

“Too young.”

“I am only three years old.”

The tailor couldn’t help but give Vision a funny look before focusing on fetching another ensemble.

A checkered double-breasted suit in blue.

“Too British.”

Soon he was fitted with an attire in deep navy. It was a three-piece, he wore shoes that were deep brown, his tie a dark grey.

“Ah, see what I told you about the eyes. Still looking British though, unfortunately. But that I can’t fix.”

Vision turned to look at Tony while fixing his attire. Still needed to get used to this sensation of having clothing. The shoes were also going to need time to get accustomed to.

“Why did you make JARVIS have a British accent? No one believes me when I say that I am an American citizen. They think I’m naturalised. I’ve only ever been to England a handful of times.” This was a complaint, as it was something that did bother him for a while. 

“Yah… I just always wanted an English butler. Call it family traditions.” He finished the glass. 

Tony paid for the suit, and they made their way back to Tony’s new supercar. Well, all of his cars were super cars, a collection worth a fortune, but that doesn’t stop the billionaire to handle them like a madman when he’s driving.

Vision looked down at the bag. “You needn’t have paid for it.”

“Well, I am forcing you to come to my wedding and to wear clothes,” he turned to the synthezoid. “I still am having a hard time coming to terms with the fact that you have been naked all this time and never told anyone.”

“I am not naked!” Vision blurted, startling a woman who gave Vision a weird look as she went out of her way to walk a bigger circle around him. Vision gives her a look of pathetic panic, but is unable to find the right words in time to explain himself.

Tony lets out a laugh before saying something about exhibitionism and how he would never understand kids these days out loud, making the poor woman walk away even faster.

Vision sighed. This wasn’t going away any time soon.

“You know what? I want a drink. I need to enjoy my freedom before I’m a tied-down man. Urgently. Let’s go.”

“I don’t drink alcohol. Or anything for that matter.”

“Humour me.”

“Can we not do this another time?”

“Of course.” Tony said, stopped in his tracks before turning to face him.

Vision blinked at him. A few seconds pass.

“Is now ‘another time’?”

Vision let out a short laugh through his nose before shaking his head. They made their way into the car.

He knew what Tony was doing – he didn’t want Vision to be alone or to feel lonesome. Times like these reminded him that Tony Stark does have compassion for those he cared about, underneath all those excessively annoying quirks.

The Vision didn’t mind being alone, he thought as he got into the passenger seat. Being alone meant he didn’t have to engage in conversation. Conversation like how he was holding up with Wanda gone.

No, don’t think about Wanda.

Keep it together.

Tony Stark wasn’t someone who would partake in serious heart-to-heart conversations. He was someone who would listen when you were ready, or when you would bring up a difficult topic. He wouldn’t pry.

And Vision was thankful for that.

They found a bar not too far off, and made their way in to find themselves a table. 

“Macallan, Masters, two, neat, please. Thank you,” Tony said quickly without looking at the Menu. Vision nods at the waiter in thanks before he walks off with their order.

“How are you feeling about the wedding? I read that it’s fairly common to get nervous or ‘cold feet’ as people call it?”

“I’m actually nervous about Pepper getting cold feet.” He laughs but Vision could tell that was an honest answer.

“I almost screwed it up really badly, so this is the first step in convincing her that this is what I want, you know?”

Tony takes a sip from the glass after it was placed on their table. The second one he would drink as well, obviously. Saying that it isn’t proper to be at an establishment without ordering anything would always give him an excuse to have double the drinks at half the conscience. Great qualities in a drinking buddy.

“I’m building Pepper a home upstate, rural area. With a lake nearby. Huge land. I’m thinking planting Goji berries and getting some Alpacas.”

Vision smiled. He was genuinely happy for Tony Stark. While he didn’t always agree with his ways at times (almost all the time) he knew that he had a caring heart. He was a good person.

And good people deserve to find happiness.

“Any plans on an addition to the family?”

“Work in progress.” Tony saw a cheeky brow raised at him. He scoffed, a bit of whisky spilled from his mouth, which made him laugh as he wiped his mouth dry. 

“You nasty son of a bitch.” 

“It isn’t uncommon. One out of five...”

“Coming from a glorified sex toy.”

“No complaints yet to date.” 

They laughed.

He set down his glass. “Pep’s stressed about the planning, and a quiet honeymoon would be nice. You know? Just us, no morning sickness, can drink what we want and eat what we want… but later, yeah. I already have a name. Morgan. Pepper isn’t sure about it. But I dreamed about it so it’s going to be Morgan.”

A few more hours went by, with them talking about random things, intellectual exchanges, friendly jabs. More laughter erupts after some more drinks. The sun had set hours ago and soft jazz music played in the background as night came. The bar was becoming empty, it was a Wednesday, so many would leave for home to retire for the night.

“Mind you I’m still offended that you thought I looked like a gangster.”

“Not my fault if it’s true. It’s just your face.” Vision frowned at Tony.

“Not your real face, the purple one. This…” Tony motioned for Vision’s human disguise. “This mask you got there. You got something against eyebrows?”

“They’re just very pale. The hairs of the brow.” Vision rubbed his brows. He definitely had them. 

“Couldn’t you… dye them? You could change your appearance however you want, right?”

“No… I’m not a shapeshifter. I just repurpose my facial structure. This is my face. Just with human completion and hair.” He paused. A look of incredulity crossed his face, his tone matching with a changed pitch. 

“Have you never noticed that this was still the same face?”

“Uh…” Tony looked away, taking another sip of whisky.

Vision narrowed his eyes in annoyance. He never noticed.

“In my defence it is still very different. The colour, the lines, lots of stuff going on up there. There used to be a space magic rock. Also, very bald.”

“I have you to thank for that.”

“It’s the fashion now,” Tony took another sip of his whisky. “Chicks dig it.”

“What does that have to do with you mocking my appearance?” He laughs.

“I’m not mocking. Just your old man likes how he made you. Your big green mommy would say the same thing.”

Vision looked down at his pale hands.

“She would say the same… that she liked me better,” a small chuckle escapes his lips. “Being purple. With vibranium lacings. Bald.”

A small laugh came out from his lips.

A few seconds go by.

Vision hadn’t noticed that tears were streaming down his face. He startled himself. 

“Excuse me,” he said wiping the tears from his face. But the tears wouldn’t stop. “I believe I might be malfunctioning. They won’t seem to stop.”

Vision felt a presence next to him and saw that Tony had taken a seat by his side. He didn’t say anything, didn’t look at him. Just stayed there. His hand patting his shoulder, as if trying to comfort him. 

They stayed like that as Tony let him cry.

“I don’t know if I can do this anymore…” Vision said, a humourless laugh escaping him, his voice full of sorrow. 

Tony let out a small sigh.

“I’ve got you, Junior…” he said, giving him a comforting pat on the shoulder. “Sometimes it hurts so bad you think you’re gonna die… But we can’t really live until we die a little.”

Vision blinked in confusion before turning to face Tony, tears still falling but a frown now having crossed his face.

“…That made no sense, Stark.”

“Yeah, I noticed that when it came out. I’m gonna leave the Shakespeare to you from now on.”


	3. For The Man Who Has Nothing

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ok here goes nothing - the plot starts :)
> 
> heavily inspired by 'for the man who has everything' (yes i know dc universe but let me live my life)

_**I once had strings but now I’m free** _

_“Wanda?”_

_“Hm?” Wanda leaned in closer to him as they snuggled on the small couch of their hotel room. It was late and they decided to stay in that night to enjoy watching some sitcoms together. He had come to realise that it was her favourite pastime. So, it also became his._

_This was a newer one added to the collection. ‘Modern Family’ it was called. Wanda hadn’t seen this show during her childhood, and so was more curious of the outcome of each episode._

_“Why is it that you enjoy watching these kinds of television shows?”_

_“Oh,” she turned to him, eyes apologetic. “I’m sorry… Would you rather watch something else?”_

_“Not at all, I was just… curious. And I realised I never got to ask you.”_

_A small smile graced her lips before she looked down, averting his gaze. A habit of hers when she would get shy or embarrassed. “Because I envy them.”_

_“The actors?”_

_Her chuckle made his heart flutter._

_“No, the families that they’re portraying,” she said, eyes returning their gaze to the screen._

_“They are all so happy, loving and loved. And the lives are mundane yet so full of life.” Her smile saddened. “Where your biggest trouble is a staircase with a step that never gets fixed and your youngest always gets his head stuck between bannisters. I…”_

_A little pause._

_“I always wanted that.”_

_He gently took her hand into his, bringing it to his lips as he feathered it with kisses._

_“Do you want one? A family?”_

_“More than anything.” She turned to him, and he could feel a crack in his heart as she looked up at him with the most beautiful yet most sorrowful eyes he had ever seen. A small smile on her lips._

_“But my being like this,” she said, “I know that will not be my future.”_

_“Oh, Darling… That’s not true.” He placed his other hand on the side of her face, lovingly caressing her check with his thumb. His eyes meeting her soft green orbs. “Your future is yours. You can do whatever you want. Make whatever kind of life you wish to have.”_

_She smiled as she leaned into his touch. She can dream, she can wish. And forget expectations._

_“Then I wish… A normal home. With a garden, big enough for a dog to play in…” She closed her eyes, as if envisioning her dreams. Vision smiled softly._

_“In the suburbs, in a small town, away from trials and tribulations. I would tend to rose bushes…”_

_“What colour?”_

_“Red, naturally.”_

_“Naturally.”_

_“There will be children running around…”_

_“How many?”_

_“As many as possible.”_

_A small pause._

_“A regular life. Full of love. Where the mundane peace will be utmost happiness… And a doting husband, of course, who is silly and has a good heart. And I will be the devoted wife.” She opened her eyes and looked up at him with a warm smile. Hope glistening in her beautiful, wide eyes._

_“A place to call home… to grow old in… That is what I wish for the most.”_

_Vision placed his other hand on the side of her face, cradling it as he looked down at her with love and adoration in his eyes. He leaned down, both closing their eyes as they shared a gentle kiss._

_“And you?” She asked as their lips parted, faces inches apart as her hands rested on his, delicately caressing his skin. “What future to do wish for?”_

_“As long as you are in it, I know everything else will fall into place,” he blushed when he registered what he said. “I-I-I mean, if that is what you would want, I don’t mean to overste—" Her lips pressed onto his. He kissed her back, and parted her lips to deepen the kiss. His hand slid down to the small of her back and hers wrapped behind his neck._

_“Vis…” she breathes into his mouth. Her eyes darkened with desire. Her cheeks flushed. Her brows angled in helpless lust making him painfully hard._

_He pressed her body against his own, his hands greedy, his mouth desperate._

Fuck, _the things this woman could do to him._

_Her core was wet._

_So wet._

_Fuck._

_**There are no more strings on me.** _

_Wanda slept, exhausted from the passion. Her hair in a gorgeous mess, her naked body under the blankets._

_She looked well-spent. Vision learned that this was what stroked his vulgar pride the most._

_No matter how proper he strived to be, no matter how gentlemanly, he couldn’t ever control this raw, aching lust that would brew within his depths when it came to this woman._

_As if he were whole. A man._

_He slowly walked towards his briefcase as he took out an envelope before taking a seat by the desk. He turned on a lamp and took out the content._

_‘Property Deed._

_2800 Sherwood Drive._

_Westview, New Jersey._

_Grantee: Wanda Maximoff and The Vision’_

_He could feel a warm feeling swelling inside of him as he beamed at the piece of paper. A kind of smile that idiots pull and could make your cheeks sore._

_He took out a red felt tip pen, and scribbled words onto the paper before drawing something. Going over it a few times to make the lines bolder. He put the pen aside and gave the deed one more smile before Wanda stirred._

_“Vis…” she murmurs, “come back to bed.”_

_He folds the deed before carefully placing it back into the envelope and puts it to the side._

_There was a heart._

**To grow old in – V.**

_“Coming, Darling.”_

He would muster the courage to show her before this stolen moment ends.

_He slips into bed next to his beloved and pulls her into a warm embrace._

That they stay together. Live together. 

_He brings her hand to his face and feathers it with gentle kisses._

Grow old together.

_**I have no strings, so I am fun.** _

Vision opened his eyes. A dream of a fond memory the night before catastrophe had commenced its dance two years ago.

He sat up from his bed, gazing out the window. 

A glance over to the clock.

03:46 AM

A sigh escaped his lips as his eyes fell upon an envelope that was placed neatly on his desk. He slowly made his way towards it.

The deed.

The lingering dream of a life he could never have anymore.

He took the envelope and phased into his usual apparel and flew out of the compound. His eyes wondered around the building as he hovered in the sky before he flew into the distance.

Deep down, something told him that it was time.

Time to face this piece of their tragedy.

The roads were mostly empty, with some lone cars and trucks along the highway towards and from New Jersey. 

He was almost there.

A sign along the road. He slowed down and halted in front of the faded light green image.

‘Welcome to Westview, NJ  
Home. It’s where you make it’

He took a deep breath and took off for the small town ahead of him.

It wasn’t long before he reached a road and landed on the car park belonging to a plot of land. Only the foundation resting there, with some pieces of random building materials scattered across the grass.

He supposed a private building project didn’t hold precedence during a time of crisis such as this.

The envelope rested in his grasp. He gazed upon it before taking out the deed.

**To grow old in – V.**

His breath trembled as he looked up, feeling the tears prickling in his eyes as he took a deep breath. The memory of his happiness and joy when he wrote this note was eating away at his soul.

He slowly walked through what would have been their door. Nothing to knock, nothing to phase through. Everything was empty, just like his heart.

Images of memories that will never be made flashed before him.

Wanda in the kitchen, making Paprikash and smile gracing her lips as Vision would plant a kiss on her head.

Their cuddling on the sofa, watching sitcoms and laughing at the shenanigans of the characters.

Wanda’s red rose bushes, water pellets glistening on the petals as she waters them. She sees Vision reading, playfulness flashing her eyes before she spun around to hose him down. He jumps before turning to her, initiating a chase. She squeals and runs away, a little Fox Terrier following them with glee. He catches her and spins her around, he holds her, they gaze into each other’s eyes before he leans in to kiss her.

Wanda and him swaying back and forth to music, his large frame behind her, his hands gently rested on her pregnant belly as she looked up to him. He smiles at her and leans in to place his lips on hers. She smiles.

The Vision and Wanda each holding a baby boy, cooing them and rocking them to sleep unable to still their crying. They make eye contact and chuckle at their predicament before he moves towards her, asking for a dance. They bobbled together and she laughs. The world was perfect. 

She was perfect.

But there was no Wanda. No Paprikash. No evenings spent watching sitcoms. No rose bushes. No dog. No children. No family.

No home.

Now the world was empty. His world was pulled from below his feet, his future ripped away from him. Their place to grow old in was nothing but a husk of empty promises and unsung dreams and hopes.

_“But what is grief – if not love… persevering?”_

God, what a hypocrite he was.

Look at him now, a miserable pile of wires and bones.

He fell to his knees. He wept.

He wept for his sadness. His hope. 

His love.

“How _**pathetic**_.” 

Vision’s eyes snapped open, but before he could react he felt himself being crushed onto the ground, a groan of pain escaping him before he turned to blast his attacker. He flew back and stabilised himself in mid-air. Vision looked up, his eyes widened in shock.

“Ultron.”

“I, too, was fond of Wanda… but to crawl and whine like a dog would make me throw up in my mouth if I physically could.”

“Don’t speak her name.” Vision grit his teeth, his eyes still wet from tears, too much emotion rushing through, leaving him unable to think or act rationally. In that moment, he didn’t care how his first foe came back.  
What he wanted was a punching bag.

He stormed into the air at a neck-breaking speed, the force crackling the air like thunder after lightning strikes. He growled as he blasted Ultron again, who dodged before Vision grabbed his head and pulled him to the ground, burying the sentient robot’s face into the concrete, then pulling him to the skies.

As enraged as he was, he knew he couldn’t let innocent civilians get in harm’s way.

“Protecting the people? Still unbearably naïve as ever.” Ultron smirked before he grabbed Vision’s neck and spread his own jaws apart, a blast emitting from his throat which had caught Vision off-guard before he plummeted to the grass fields in the outskirts of Westview. 

Ultron crashes into the ground for another attack and Vision reduced his density. He was going to catch his foe in his body, only for his eyes to widen in shock when he was caught in Ultron’s. Who, too, was now able to change his density.

“I see you have gained a new skill set,” Vision said behind gritted teeth, Ultron smirked.

“Thank you, do you like it?” he said, a smirk appearing on his lips. “I have you to thank for this.”

Vision narrowed his eyes. He cursed himself for having been so careless as they both struggled to try and gain the upper hand, only the collision of their power beams being able to separate them.

“Your data that’s embedded in my matrix… you reassembled it,” Vision said, his eyes never leaving his foe. Most likely had crafted himself anew not unlike how he had done in New York years ago before Vision’s birth. 

“During the procedure in Wakanda the protocol to keep me bound to your other synthetic neurons was incomplete. No collective connection – no rewritten code, just pieces of a puzzle that needed to come together.” Ultron flared his mouth open, a crimson blast flying towards Vision before he phased through it and dove under the earth and returned the favour when he was below Ultron, who flew up into the sky before stabilising himself. They bring their battle into the heavens, each strike resounding the air as if engulfed by a storm.

“Your material composition has changed,” Vision remarked as he scanned his foe, not noticing a single scratch. He activated his distress signal, knowing that Ultron might have become too strong of an opponent for him to take down without causing destruction or hurt someone.

“Entirely of vibranium. Thought it would even out the playing field.”

“What are your intentions?” he asked, his head having slowly cleared itself from his fit of rage a few moments ago.

“Humanity’s doom has already come to fruition… Thanos, was it?” The mention of the mad titan’s name made Vision’s blood boil, wrath aching his bones. Ultron smirked, insanity burning in his menacing red orbs as a black cube manifested into his hand from his skin, coming together as if it was nanotech.

“I am here on a more personal matter.” The mad robot faced the synthezoid. “I want my vision back.”

“You wish to upload your consciousness matrix onto this body?” Vision asked. “You and I both know that this is an impossibility given that mine is already housed within this form. You cannot overpower me.”

“I know. But I prefer a more method approach.”

Vision frowned in frustration. He came here to mourn. Not to entertain this mad being with crazed demands.

He flew to Ultron, but instead of blasting him down, Ultron phased through his attack, only to slam the black cube into his chest. To Vision’s surprise he was unable to phase through it and he groaned in pain, his body riddled in black circuit cuts. His eyes rolled back and he descended to the ground. Vision gritted his teeth as he struggled to stay conscious, trying to stand in the small crater his impact had created. Ultron landed on the grass and started to step closer towards him, Vision powered up his arc reactor, prepared to blast him. 

He felt a hand on his shoulder and saw War Machine had landed next to him. He turned to face him, in shock and panting. 

“Vision! What happened, you okay?”

“Be careful, Rhodes, he’s a lot more powerful now—”

“What are you talking about?” 

Rhodes’ helmet opened, exposing his face as he looked around. “Who is more powerful now?”

“Ultron, he—” Vision turned his head to face where Ultron once stood.

There was nothing there. 

No trace of him. As if he had disappeared into thin air. Vision scanned the area frantically. Nothing. Even if he flew away, or phased into the ground, he should have been able to see him.

He was right there when Rhodes was next to him. Surely he must have…

“Ultron?” Rhodes asked, confused. “Ultron’s dead, V. There’s no one here besides us.”

“You didn’t see him?”

“I saw you alone in the air before you hit the ground. The suit didn’t pick up anything besides you, man.”

What?

A blank look crossed Vision’s face.

Was that all… just in his head?

“V, what’s that?”

Vision glanced down and saw his chest being tainted by ebony. As if a hole had been ripped into him, his body becoming a void.

He placed his hand on it, trying to make sense of what was happening.

A pulse went through him.

_Vis._

Wanda.

Darkness engulfed him as his body fell limb.

He could hear Rhodes’ calls becoming quiet.

No matter.

This felt so right.

He could feel himself in a warm embrace.

_Vision… Welcome home._

Wanda.

_**I am not tied to anyone.** _

Rhodes put Vision’s body onto the hospital bed, his body limb and his eyes still closed.  
“What the hell happened to him?” Tony asked as he looked down at Vision’s body, eyeing the deep black mark on his chest. It seemed like it was… moving?

“I don’t know, when I got to him he was on the ground and already had this thing on him. Then he passed out.”

“Did he say anything before he was unconscious?” Steve asked.

“He said something about Ultron.”

Natasha frowned in confusion. “Ultron? Like the Ultron who threw Sokovia onto the planet?”

“I have no idea,” the colonel said, shaking his head in confusion and rubbed his temple. “He seemed really confused, said that he somehow came back stronger but I was there. I scanned everything and there was no one there but the two of us. If I didn’t know better… I would say he hallucinated.”

Steve frowned. “You think this is psychosomatic?”

“Nope, this isn’t him,” Tony said as he saw the results of tests that were running on Vision. “This black smear on him is a Trojan Horse. Whatever or whoever did this to him, it’s definitely not him.” A look of realisation crossed his face. “Oh, fuck me.”

Tony extracted the file that popped up in red, like a warning in contrast, and blew it up for the others to see.

“Vision’s psyche is a complex construct of overlays. Me, Bruce, the stone, JARVIS… Ultron was one of them.”

Tony taps onto the screen and expands the image further, a cold blue sphere with firing neurons showing, growing and moving.

The captain wasn’t sure what to make of the image. “What is this?”

“This… is Ultron… the beginning of him, anyway. My guess is that when the stone was removed from his head, in the heat of everything his usual protocol to keep the synapses to work non-sequentially wasn’t installed properly in its entirety.”

“And in English?”

“That is to say, old man, that Ultron’s consciousness is reassembling himself inside of his head. And now he unleashed a virus that is disassembling Vision’s mind.”

Concern was etched into his face.

“And if we don’t make Vision snap out of it, it will be Ultron waking up instead of our guy.”

Vision fluttered his eyes open as sunlight graced his face and he smiled as he breathed in the soft, sweet scent of Wanda’s hair. His arms draped over her and her head on his shoulder, she stirred quietly. He buried his nose in the nape of her neck and feathered her skin with gentle kisses. A hum of happiness came from her as she turned to place her sweet lips on his.

“Good morning,” she said, eyes lazy and filled with adoration.

“Good morning, Darling.” He smiled at her, his hand moved to brush a lock of hair behind her ear, and she laid hers above it, leaning into his touch. A golden wedding band and engagement ring with a red gem sparkling in the sunlight. “Did you sleep well?”

“Like I have slept for the longest in some time,” she said, eyes heavy still from the waves of the early hours. “And you? Slept well?”

He planted a kiss on his wife’s head, a smile never leaving his lips.

“Never better.”


	4. Like A Real Family

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> trying something new, not sure if it will translate well but i had a blast writing this. 
> 
> i wrote this from my love for modern family (the only sitcom i ever fell in love with) and paul bettany as geoffrey chaucer in 'a knights tale (because *that* is how i met paul bettany LOL)

It was a Saturday today, much to Vision’s glee. He didn’t have to go to work and got to spend the entirety of two days with his beloved wife.

Wanda brewed herself a cup of tea and was taking careful sips. She had been feeling a little ill in the recent mornings so she couldn’t really stomach a meal until the later hours. Relief washed over her as she realised that she was feeling rather well today for a change.

“I picked up a few of this town’s information leaflet for those who recently moved here to Westview,” Vision said, his eyes peering into the pages, enthusiastically searching for activities for them to enjoy and to get to know the area they moved into just days ago.

“A few?” Wanda raised a playful brow. It was a stack he hand in his arms.

“I may have gotten a little carried away,” Vision sheepishly admitted. Wanda smiled at how adorably excited her husband was of living together in their first shared home. 

Like a real family.

“There’s a famous gelateria in the town square, many lovely restaurants and a renowned record and instrument store! That would be something you’d love.”

She chuckled as she walked up behind him, wrapping her arms around his waist and nestled her cheek into his muscular back, enjoying the fabric of his well-fitted sweater.

“As long as I spend the day with you, I’m sure it will be perfect.”

Vision smiled as he took her hand into his and brought it to his lips, feathering it with gentle kisses. He turned to her and brought her close in a loving embrace.

“You’re awfully affectionate today, even for you.” Wanda giggles as she snuggled into his chest. “Not that I’m complaining. What’s the occasion?”

Vision didn’t know why, but it felt like he had to hold her closer than ever.

He leaned back, looking down at his beloved. “I just wanted to feel you, clearly.”

She smiled at him. “And?”

“And here you are.” He places a kiss on her lips, and then rocked his body from side to side, taking Wanda’s body into his little dance of joy.

“Would you look at us – Wanda and Vision, the newly-wedded homeowners of Westview.”

She giggles.

How he had missed the sound.

…Wait.

Why would he have missed—

“How about we peruse the town and see what catches our eye?” Wanda asked, bringing Vision back to the present. He beamed at her.

“Sounds like a brilliant idea.”

\--

“You said this was a virus? So, we could use an antivirus or something like that?”

Tony blinked in surprise as he turned his head to the captain, impressed that he actually knew what an antivirus was. Steve noticed his incredulity and narrowed his eyes at the genius.

“I do use the internet, you know.”

“What d’ya know… you _can_ still teach an old dog new tricks.” Tony turned his attention back to the screen, trying to find the source of the maleficent code that was attacking the Vision from the inside.

“Not to burst your bubble but Vision is a few models ahead of something like that. He should be able to dispose of this himself. But it seems as though the protocol is being hindered. I need time to fashion something to reboot it.”

“And us?”

“How proficient are you in non-organic neuroscience?”

“Uh…”

“And that answers your question. Get Bruce here, I’m gonna need him.” He sighed. He was supposed to take his dear wife and daughter out for a holiday today. 

“Pepper’s gonna kill me.”

\--

“Should we get something for the dinner at your parent’s place tonight?”

Wanda blinked before turning to look at her husband who donned his human disguise. They had just gotten some ice cream and found a seat to enjoy them. Well, she was enjoying them, since Vision doesn’t eat food. He had attempted to give the frozen treat a lick but was horrified by the sensation and violently wiped his tongue.

“I completely forgot about that,” she said. “Let’s get some wine, they always appreciate those.”

“Pietro said he had some sort of announcement to make. He seemed really excited over the phone.”

Wanda rolled her eyes as a groan escaped her. “Probably to introduce his new plaything.” She scrunched her nose in annoyance, but Vision couldn’t help but smile at how adorable she looked. “He’s an adult so I’m not gonna judge him, but…”

“You are judging him right now.”

-

Wanda and Vision are seated on their couch, his arms draped over her shoulders while her legs and arms were crossed, a look of annoyance as she looked at the camera.

“I am not judging him! I don’t care who he’s sleeping with but I don’t want to see their faces. He’s always like this – at the beginning he’s so in love and is always convinced that ‘this is the one’ then gets them to bed and _suddenly_ he loses interest.”

Vision shrugged as he glanced down at his wife. “Well, maybe this time it is the one.”

Wanda turned to face him, a frown now evident on her face. “Vis, he has horrible taste in women. Don’t you remember Rebecca?”

“The young lady who slashed the tyres of his car?”

“No, that was Sarah. Rebecca was the one who egged his house and hired a clown to follow him when he would go for his evening jogs.”

_Pietro jumps at the sight of a clown in a dark alley and does a 180 after a yelp escapes him._

_On a different night, he is crying as he runs from the same clown, who was holding a butcher knife and marching towards him._

“Took a lawsuit and 2 years of therapy for him to get over it.”

“Ah.”

Wanda’s gaze returned to the camera ahead of her. “In any event, I am not looking forward to this.”

-

“Wanda, Vision! Welcome!” Irina beamed at her daughter and son-in-law and ushered them into their home. “So glad you could make it.”

Wanda greeted her mother as she gave her a hug and a kiss on the cheek. Vision gave her a hug and handed her a bottle of red wine who smiles at the gesture.

“Oh, you shouldn’t have.”

Vision flashed a kind smile. “It’s just a little something as a thank you for inviting us over.”

Oleg is standing a few metres back, holding his daughter in a hug as he throws a suspicious glance at Vision.

-

Irina and her husband are sitting on the coach, Oleg looking to the side, clearly uninterested in engaging with the camera. His wife didn’t look impressed.

“How long are you going to keep giving Vision a hard time?”

“I don’t trust him.”

“They are married and just bought a house together in the area so that they can be closer to us. He’s a good boy!”

“I don’t like him.”

“Is this about Wanda being your little princess?”

Oleg looks at the camera, frowning. “Nobody is good enough for my little princess!”

-

Wanda looks around the living room before going into the kitchen to help her mother with setting the table and finishing off the dinner along with Vision.  
“For a guy as fast as him, Pietro does have a knack for being late,” Wanda said as she passed the cutlery to her husband. As if on cue, the doorbell rings. “I’ll get it.”

She opens the door and sees Pietro standing there, his blue eyes glistening in the light and his face beaming like an idiot. Wanda narrowed her eyes in suspicion at her twin, noting that he was wearing a casual suit instead of his usual sports gear. He was holding the hand of a brunette who was wearing a white summer dress, had a kind face with freckles and gentle eyes. She was just thinking how this one looked a lot friendlier than his past endeavours before her eyes shot at a piece of paper Pietro held up for her to see.

_Marriage license._

Wanda eyed her brother, she looked like she had been smacked across the face with a plank.

-

Wanda sat on the sofa, her legs crossed with one hand nursing a headache as she groaned in annoyance. Next to her was her twin, who was still grinning from ear-to-ear.

“My dearest brother always had the habit of ‘go hard or go home’, but this is _insane_ even for him.”

“I was inspired by you and V. You guys got married, look how great you two turned out.”

“Don’t lump us in the same category,” she said. “How long do you even know this girl before you married her? Was it even a week?”

“We met on Thursday.”

“You proposed after two days?!”

“No, no, I proposed the day we met but town hall was fully booked until today.”

“You have got to be kidding me.”

“Come on, how long did you and Vision know each other before you guys got hitched?”

Wanda narrowed his eyes at him.

“Of course we waited until we—” 

Wait…

A small laugh escaped her lips, her brain working frantically to retrieve this memory.  
“We were together for…” 

Surely, she must know this.

“We got married after…”

…Why couldn’t she remember?

She could feel her breathing becoming shallow as the ticking of an old-timer clock along the wall became louder.

Tik.

Why...?

Tok.

Why was everything blank?

**Tik.**

Why didn't she know?

**Tok.**

Pietro looked concerned as he glanced at his twin sister. “Wanda, are you alright?”

“Darling, dinner is ready!” 

-

Wanda snapped back to the present as Vision walks over to the door, a smile on his lips as he welcomed Pietro with a hug, and shook the girl’s hand. Her name was Crystal, she said. Pietro showed the marriage license and the synthezoid looked gobsmacked, but beamed at the newly-wedded couple and congratulated them.

Oleg needed to catch his wife from fainting.

The dinner went on fine, and Crystal was actually a very sweet girl. Hopefully this was going to be Pietro’s turning a new leaf in taking a relationship seriously. One would definitely hope so since they just got married. While every one was shocked about the event, there wasn’t any point in talking them out of it since it was already too late. That was probably Pietro’s thinking as well – can’t stop a wedding if it’s already over with. So, everyone didn’t have much of a choice besides accepting the situation and hoping for the best. Most likely because deep down, everyone was tired of Pietro’s shit and meeting a new woman every other week.

And in all honesty, it wasn’t the craziest thing Pietro had pulled off over the years.

But something had unsettled in Wanda as she glanced at her husband. He was engaging in a conversation with Crystal, coming up with some excuse as to why he barely touched his food. Probably too soon to drop the synthezoid bomb on her just yet. Her gaze was upon his lips as sounds were being drowned out of her head. The voices becoming distant murmurs in the background. Her peripheral seemingly faded and she could only focus on her husband.

When _did_ they get married?

For the life of her she couldn’t recall.

What _could_ she recall?

She knew that she loved Vision more than anything, knew everything about his likes and dislikes, and how his presence brought her joy and comfort. She knew she was his wife, he was her husband and that they were very much in love. And they live together in Westview, where her family also resided.

But… what else was there?

Vision glanced over at his wife and saw the troubled look on her expression. No one besides himself could sense it. He could feel something brewing in the pit of his stomach.

Do something.

Before he could register anything, Pietro caught him off-guard as he hit Vision’s back in a playful manner, and Vision’s eyes widened in shock. He was chewing on some pieces of food which he would sneakily dispose in a tissue.

But he swallowed.

And not the good kind.

His eyes widened in shock and coughed, feeling his gears and wires being tangled and hindered. Wanda jumped from her seat and was by her husband’s side, rubbing his back.

“Honey, are you alright?”

“…Oh, hello my little cabbage,” Vision said as he looked up to his wife with a drunken smile. “You look ravishing.” He got dizzy and rested his head on her chest. “I think I’m going to nap her for a while.”

Wanda glared at Pietro. “You know Vision can’t eat food, why did you not look before hitting him?!”

“I barely touched him!”

Crystal raised a confused brow which elicited a nervous laugh from Wanda. 

“Acid reflux.” 

Crystal nodded, simply accepting the explanation even though it made no sense.

Vision rubbed his face into Wanda’s chest as he wrapped his arms around her waist. “Hmmm… so soft… you smell so nice, my love, I just want to eat you up!”

Oleg looked like he was about to kill the synthezoid and Irina had to give her husband a warning in form of a strong grip on his knee. 

Wanda pulled Vision to his feet. “I think that’s enough eating for you for today.” 

Thank God she could move things with her mind, she thought. Otherwise supporting the weight of a vibranium synthezoid would have been back-breaking.

Crystal’s eyes widened in surprise.

What a remarkably strong woman, she mused to herself.

They went to the guest bedroom before Wanda settled him on the bed. 

“In the parents’ house? You naughty, naughty girl,” Vision said, eyes drunk and smirk cheeky. Wanda would have to be lying if she said that it didn’t make her heart flutter just the teeniest bit. 

“Let’s try and get you fixed,” she said, focusing her energy on trying to find the offending piece of sustenance which was plaguing her dear husband. But before she could do anything, he phased through the bed and she heard a loud crash coming from the basement.

-

Wanda had her hands on her face, an exasperated groan escaping her. She needed a few seconds before she could expose her face to the camera.

“Let’s just say that Vision can be… _uncooperative_ when he’s accidentally ingested something. This one time he accidentally drank some wine and he thought he was a poet in medieval England.”

_Vision donned his human disguise, albeit missing his clothes. All of them. His alternative form bare for the world to witness. It was evening when he had escaped to the park from a dinner party with Pietro and some friends. Wanda had to chase him down and thanked whatever power that granted her the wish of no one being at the park during this hour as her horrified eyes saw his pale buttocks staring at her face._

_“Vis,” she shouted above a whisper, “get your naked ass BACK HERE.”_

_“Who is this ‘Vis’ of which you speak?”_

_“What are you talking about?! Honey, stop messing around and PUT SOME PANTS ON.”_

_“I know not of this ‘Vis,’" Vision said as he turned to her and held her hands in his own, looking at her intently with a gaze she never saw on him which was setting an internal freak-out ablaze. "But I could never deny the affections of a goddess such as yourself. Such beauty is beyond mortal contemplation - Geoffrey Chaucer’s the name, writing’s the game.” Vision said dramatically before he released her hands and continued along the path towards the forest of the park. Wanda had a look of incredulity on her face._

_“What are you talking about and more importantly: WHY DO YOU HAVE TO BE NAKED FOR THIS.”_

_“It is somewhat an involuntary vow of poverty.”_

_“You aren’t making any sense,” she said, running to gain up on him. “WHAT are you DOING?”_

_“Trudging.”_

_She blinked._

_“You know, trudging - to trudge. The slow, weary, depressing yet determined walk of a man who has nothing left in his life except the impulse to just simply soldier on.”_

_Wanda focused on trying to find the source of whatever was causing her husband to, for a lack of a better term, be losing his fucking marbles._

_“But you know, on the brighter side – trudging does represent pride… Pride, resolve and faith in the good Lord Almighty.” Vision looked up to the sky with a defeated look._

_Ah, she thought. Found it._

_“Please, Christ, rescue me from my current tribul- AH!”_

_Wanda expelled the red wine from his system, and Vision looked around, confusion etched into his face before his eyes settled on his wife. She motioned for his crotch, and Vision looked down in horror, realising the source of the uncanny breeze._

_“Good Heavens!”_

-

Wanda managed to get Vision sorted, and the poor synthezoid was horrified by the whole occurrence. They decided it was time for them to retire early, and Vision kept asking Wanda if he had at least kept his clothes on this time.

And as entertained as she was, she couldn’t help but feel her mind wander back to the uncomfortable feeling that had been planted in her stomach when Pietro asked her a question to which she should have known the answer.

This was fundamental. How could she not know when she was married to Vision?

She wanted to ask him.

But for some reason, something was stopping her.

“Darling?” Wanda looked up to see herself and Vision in their car, her husband in the driver’s seat as he pulled up to their garage. Concern was evident in his voice and she turned to face him, worry glistening in his clear blue eyes. He took her hands into his before bringing it to his lips, laying gentle kisses in her palm, his gaze never leaving hers. 

“Is everything alright? You have been awfully quiet.” His brows furrowed with concern and guilt. “Are you upset with me with regards to the earlier incident? I’m so very sorry.”

She smiles at him, for some reason, she felt as if all her worries were being ushered out of her bones. And she couldn’t find any reason to question what had been plaguing her mind.

“Don’t be silly. That was entirely Pietro’s fault.”

But when she looked into his eyes and felt his skin under her touch, she knew.

She was with Vision, her husband, the love of her life. 

That was all that mattered.

“Come, let’s go inside before it gets cold.”

“Sounds like a wise idea.” Vision said and they started making their way to the front door before Vision swoops her up into his arms, carrying her as his bride. She squeals with glee as she wrapped her arms behind his neck. They get in and he gently sets her back on her feet, using his foot to close the door behind him and phasing back to his true form.

“Much better,” Wanda said and Vision gently guided her to a slow dance. They gaze into each other’s eyes before he brings her hand to his chest, where his heart would be, and leaned in to kiss his beloved.

“Maybe you have been pushing yourself too much the past few days,” he said, still gently rocking back and forth, his hand keeping hers upon his chest in place. “You have been unwell in the mornings recently. I wish you would take my plea to see a doctor into consideration.”

“I’m sure it’s fine, Vis. I didn’t see a doctor until I was 24 years old.”

“That was when you had pneumonia.”

“It was barely more than a cold.”

Vision shook his head at his wife and made a mental note to make an appointment and drag her there if he had to, but there was no need to disclose the inevitable. She leans back in the dance and Vision eyes widened in shock, his body frozen. Wanda looked at him in confusion as he halted the dance so abruptly.

“Something wrong?”

“Uhm, Wanda…?”

She followed his gaze to her stomach, and looked in absolute shock. 

She was pregnant.

Vision brings her back closer to him as his eyes beamed with joy, a smile on his lips. He was too overwhelmed with happiness to find the right words, and Wanda couldn’t help but feel love swelling in her heart as she placed a hand to cradle his face. 

Neither questioning how this could have happened so quickly.

Must be her powers. Of course it was. This was perfectly normal for an unusual couple like them.

“Vision… is this really happening?”

He leans in, gently holding her hands into his.

“Yes, my love… it’s really happening.”

They kiss.

The world was perfect.

Vision was perfect.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i was really interested by the fact that hex vision was a sentient being, even though he was wanda's creation. so i was trying to explore that notion. 
> 
> thanks for reading! stay healthy and safe :)


End file.
